Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By JASON JUNO [email protected] ESCANABA --- The Ontonagon girls have long stood out at the U.P. Finals. When the MHSAA first separated the U.P. Finals into two separate classes, Ontonagon won the first 10 U.P. Class C-D championships, from 1978 to 1987. When Class D got its own U.P. meet, the Gladiator girls won the first four, part of a five-year run of titles from 1994 to 1998. When classifications changed again in 2001, and the name of the smallest group of schools changed from Class D to Division 3, Ontonagon didn’t stop w...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] CAMERON, Wis. --- Ona Ruiz played basketball all her life in Spain. She played it when she came to Mercer as an exchange student. She’s going to state in track-and-field. Ruiz started triple jumping about six weeks before the WIAA Division 3 postseason started. She won the regional to advance to sectionals where she then needed a top-four finish to advance to state. A couple of sleepless nights later, Ruiz crushed her personal best, left the school record in shambles and finished in third place to p...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] Ironwood and Gogebic both won opening-round MHSAA Division 4 District 97 games at home Tuesday. The Miners may have put themselves in better position to challenge for a district title on Friday, though. Ironwood ace Brendan McCullough pitched a gem, striking out 15 Lake Linden-Hubbell batters in a 6-1 victory at Lorenson Field. He only allowed one hit and two walks. But it was still a 2-1 game when he neared 74 pitches, the most he could throw and still pitch Friday as the district tournament c...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY --- Hurley pulled away from what was a back-and-forth battle for a 17-7 five-inning win over Clayton-Turtle Lake in last week’s WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal. It put them in the regional final, where they ran into the No. 1-ranked team in the state. Grantsburg beat the Northstars 17-1 in three innings. Even though they ran into a Pirates’ team with state-level ambitions, Hurley coach Randy King was happy they were able to win their home playoff game. “I remember the feeling last year, seein...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] LAKE LINDEN --- The Bessemer Speedboys 4x100 relay team already broke its school record this season and it got an unexpected one here Monday - the best time ever at Lake Linden's Werner Field (45.79 seconds). Bessemer continued their strong performance in the event at Monday's MHSAA Division 3 regional track-and-field meet where the top four finishers in the individual events and the top two relay teams qualified for the U.P. Finals, set for June 1 in...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY --- The Hurley basketball teams are moving up to Division 4 for next year’s WIAA postseason tournaments. The student count used by the WIAA for the 2024-25 school year rose 15 students from last year to 207 students. That’s the largest enrollment number for Hurley since they were at 218 and in Division 4 for the 2014-15 school year. Two years later, they were at 175 and a new member of Division 5. They’ve been in the state’s smallest division ever since the 2016-17 school year. That is except...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] BESSEMER --- Bessemer’s Tommy Trudgeon put his name in one record book Thursday and he’s hoping to rewrite a couple more before his senior season is finished. His time of 11.60 seconds was the fastest 100-meter dash in the history of Bessemer’s Marcy Bracket Invitational. “It was on my radar,” Trudgeon said. “I still got the school record to beat.” The old record was 11.62 seconds, set by South Shore-Washburn’s Brett Bulovsky in 2014. “It’s awesome, I am so happy for him,” Bessemer coach Valerie Aijala...
HURLEY --- The Hurley baseball team avenged an early-season loss with a 6-5 victory over Washburn Wednesday, May 8. “Great win tonight,” Hurley coach Bart Innes said. Carter Hall tripled to tie the game in the fifth inning and he scored the go-ahead run on a single by Jayden Zaleski. Hall picked up the win on the mound. He struck out 11 in a complete-game effort with two walks, five hits and five runs (four earned) allowed. “Carter pitched another dandy,” Innes said. Devin Soltis finished with two triples and Hall, Jack Caudill and Zaleski...
IRONWOOD --- The host Ironwood boys and girls both won the first Jim LaBlonde Memorial track-and-field invite Saturday. The school started the meet to honor LaBlonde, a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame who died five years ago. The 1997 graduate still holds the school records in the 100 and 200 dashes with times of 11.13 and 22.78 seconds, respectively. His parents, Jim and Marlene and his sister Dena Lundin and brother-in-law Dave Lundin attended the meet. “The LaBlonde Invite was more than just a typical track meet; it was a celebr...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- The Ontonagon girls won the large Ironwood golf invite Wednesday, May 8 at Gogebic Country Club. The Gladiators’ Madyson Pantti earned medalist honors with a score of 108. She led the Gladiators to a team title with Drummond finishing second. Pantti finished fourth at U.P. Finals last year and the junior is having a strong season as Ontonagon’s top golfer with the graduation of last year’s U.P. champion, Emmy Bobula. “She’s always been a very good golfer,” Ontonagon coach Jim Jessup said. “S...
IRONWOOD - The Ironwood baseball team won four games Friday and Saturday before dropping one to Chequamegon to wrap up a busy period Monday. "Good weekend after coming off of five straight losses," Ironwood coach Cody Kurta said. The Red Devils beat Ewen-Trout Creek 13-6 and 20-6 Friday at Lorenson Field. Robert Roberts earned both wins on the mound for Ironwood. He struck out seven and gave up two hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings. Ironwood's Landon Buerger was 4 for 6 with three RBIs and three...
HURLEY - Hurley won its annual golf invitational Tuesday at Eagle Bluff. The Northstars finished with a 196, 24 strokes ahead of runner-up Mellen. The meet was cut short to nine holes as rain moved into the area. "Was tough in the rain and (with) course conditions because of that, but I'm proud of the team's score," Hurley coach Paul Harma said. Mellen's Tommy Kruzan was medalist with a 40. Connor Paakola and Gavyn Moncher both carded 47s for Hurley and finished in the top five. Mason Boyd led Ironwood with a score of 50. Results Medalist:...
HURLEY - The Gogebic Miners swept a pair of good games from Hurley Tuesday with a 7-5 nine-inning victory in Game 1 and a 5-4 victory in the second contest. "Hurley is always a tough opponent, so going into our doubleheader against Lake Linden on Friday, this was an important win for us," Gogebic coach Kassi Huotari said. "Lake Linden is the top of our conference, so we'd like to go there and take those wins, too." The Northstars have some big games coming up as well. They hope to get revenge...
ASHLAND, Wis. — The Bessemer boys finished runner-up to host Ashland at the 13-team Welker Invitational Monday. Ashland also won the girls event with Ironwood third and Mercer fourth. It was much cooler at the meet, which was held not far from Lake Superior, than it was in the Ironwood area Monday. The Bessemer boys took first in several events — Tommy Trudgeon in the 200 dash, Alvin Holst-Larsen in the high jump and Neal Rand in the discus. Ironwood’s Talon Hughes was fastest in the 100 hurdles. The Speedgirls’ Emily Johnston placed first i...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- The winter’s snow was long gone, a rare feat for Ironwood’s annual Kraemer Invitational track-and-field meet. Also wishing for good weather for the late April meet at Longyear Field may have been asking a bit much, though. The off-and-on rain may not have been pleasant to compete in, but at least they got the oft-canceled meet completed. “That was a tough one,” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “But the kids did fantastic.” He was impressed with the times the Panthers ‘ runners ended up with...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] BESSEMER - Gogebic's Braylon Lane had been struggling a bit at the plate during Tuesday's game against rival Ironwood with the high pitches especially getting the best of him. But when he had a chance to win the game for the Miners, he came through. His single in the bottom of the fifth inning scored Jordan Libertoski and walked it off as Gogebic beat Ironwood 7-6 in the five-inning contest. "I'd been struggling all day, I had a backwards K earlier in the game. It was rough, but everyone was telling me...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY --- The Hurley Northstars look forward to Olivia DiGiorgio's return. They have missed her power bat and veteran presence on the mound since she injured her leg in a loss to Mellen. But at the same time, freshman Ariel Haasch has excelled in her absence. The Northstars have won three out of four games with her on the mound, two of them big Northern Lights Conference games. In a rivalry game against Ironwood last week, she led the Northstars at the pl...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Jake Witt is back for his second offseason program, fully healthy and ready to go after a hip injury ended his rookie season before it started. Witt was drafted in the seventh round last April then completed the off-season program and part of training camp before landing on the season-ending injured reserve. That injury is in the rearview mirror, though, and the Ewen-Trout Creek graduate is ready to earn a spot on the roster. Witt was officially cleared during exit...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Two of the top local girls basketball players, along with some of the best basketball players in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin will play in this year's Kiwanis Classic Border Bash. Hurley's Jaana Aukee will play for the Northern Wisconsin girls, while Bessemer's Brooke Stanislawski will suit up for Northern Michigan in the annual all-star basketball event slated for June 6 at the Lindquist Center in Ironwood. Stanislawski, who...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] BESSEMER --- The Gogebic Miners beat Hurley 10-5 in five innings just before the rain came Monday evening at Massie Field. "Good win for these kids," Gogebic coach Leo Ribich said. "They're fairly young, a boost of confidence for them to start the season. It's only our second game of the year, we'll only get better from there." CJ Wainio struck out 10 and got the complete-game win for the Miners. "He just threw strikes and kept very consistent," Ribich...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The first two batters went out in the bottom of the first inning. Jenny Klopatek still drove in a run, herself, diving in just ahead of the throw for an inside-the-park home run. It was an exciting first run for Butternut-Mercer’s first game in Mercer since the co-op formed in the 2017 season. It set the tone for a 12-5 Pioneers’ win over Ironwood in a non-conference game Tuesday night. And it was pretty fitting how the first inning went. The two batters who went out were from Butte...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY --- Hurley’s home opener came exactly one month earlier than last year’s May 11 game against South Shore. The Northstars defeated Butternut-Mercer 14-4 Thursday, April 11, and have since played two more home games. A more consistent schedule should give them more chances to play — and more chances to get better — compared to last year when it didn’t stop snowing until early May and they didn’t get outside here to even practice until after their 12th game. “We’ve got a lot to work on, we got to c...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MARQUETTE --- Ewen-Trout Creek's Bree Besonen joined a pretty exclusive club last week. The eighth grader was named to the All-U.P. Second Team at the 49th annual Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association girls basketball meeting last week. She's believed to be one of just three girls to ever be named to the All-U.P. team as an eighth grader. She knows the other two pretty well - they're her sisters. Elise Besonen made it in 2017 and...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Ironwood enjoyed success in its stay in Division 4, but their short run in the MHSAA's smallest division will end, at least for now. The MHSAA announced the classifications for next year's postseason tournaments Friday, and as expected, Ironwood moved up to Division 3 for basketball and volleyball. Their high school enrollment rose from 194 students for the 2023-24 school year to 219, putting them well above the sub-200 student cutoffs for...
MARQUETTE --- Ewen-Trout Creek’s super scorer, the leader of Wakefield-Marenisco’s district championship team and Ironwood’s floor leader were named to the All-U.P. Division 4 Second Team at Monday’s meeting of the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Ewen-Trout Creek’s Austin Gordon, Ironwood’s Axton Ruotsala and Wakefield-Marenisco’s Carter Cole joined nine other top players on the Second Team. Gordon, a 5-11 junior, made the list for the second straight year. His 24.1 point per game scoring average ranked second in th...
